Learn About Geary County Heritage in These Intriguing and Amusing Articles From our Museum Staff

Friday, December 19, 2014

Christmas in the Newspaper

For hundreds of years the newspaper was the
only way to keep abreast of activity going on in the town. Junction City was no
different than any other town. However news has not always been as strictly
defined as it is today. Around the holidays the newspaper was a way for people
to connect with traditions of the past, and one of the most popular methods was
the “Letters to Santa” column. Children from all over town wrote letters to
Santa Claus which were then published, free of charge, in the newspaper. The
following letter came from the Dec. 12th 1963 edition of the
Republic Newspaper.

“Dear Santa Claus,

I am five years old and I go to school. I am
a pretty good boy most of the time. My little brother, Timmy, has the chicken
pox. He’s two years old.

I want an Army tank, some tools, and a truck
for Christmas. Please put something in your sack for my little brother too. He
likes cars and trucks.

Thank you for all the toys you left last
year.

Your friend,

Terry Wunder

135 W. 3rd St.”

The Republic Newspaper wasn’t the only one in
Junction City that would publish these letters either. The Blue Jay Newspaper
had a column called “Santa’s Letter Box” and the letter below was sent in by a
Mr. Bob Baity.

“Dear Santa:

I am just a “Freshy” this year, but I have
been awfully good. Please bring an electric cho cho train, a B. B. gun and a
jumping jack. I’ll leave you a chicken sandwich by the fireplace.

Your friend,

Bob
Baity.”

Letters like these were printed each year in
the weeks leading up to Christmas. These letters
were a regular feature throughout the month of December in many of the
small-town weekly papers. Many are short and to the point, lots are amusing,
and a few reveal heartbreaking details about the difficult lives led by some of
the kids, especially during the depression.

Another popular section in
the newspaper around Christmas was the “I REMEMBER WHEN –“column. In 1953 the
newspaper printed Christmas stories from 15, 25, and even 75 years previous. This
column was meant to highlight annual traditions, and remind readers of how
these traditions have grown over the years. One such tradition that was highlighted in 1953 was the annual Christmas Light contest. This column mentions
the winners from December of 1938.

Geary County Museums

The Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday 1-4 and is closed for holidays.There are three floors of exhibits, both permanent and rotating. We have a wonderful gift shop where you can buy trinkets for yourself or others. The Museum building is available for rent, email for more information. We have three Satellite sites available upon request.